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From the KATO Newsroom
William Perry - News Director

November 2006 Archive

A trial date has been set for a man accused of kidnapping and robbing a Sierra Vista businessman at gun point last year.

Damien A. Collins, 20, of Sierra Vista, is facing seven felony counts, including kidnapping, burglary, aggravated assault, armed robbery, endangerment, and car theft.

Cochise County Judge James Conlogue, (Con-log) a Morenci High School graduate, set Collin's trial to begin January 8th, in Cochise County Superior Court.

Collins allegedly robbed Bread Basket German Bakery owner Peter Bobke At gunpoint outside the business during the early morning hours of December 17, 2005.

Collins allegedly kidnapped Bobke and forced him to drive to his home where Collins robbed him.

Collins then took the victim and his 2006 Mercedes sedan and drove into Mexico at the Naco Port of Entry. Bobke jumped from the vehicle just before it crossed the border.

Collins was detained by Mexican authorities in Cananea, Sonora, in January and was turned over to Sierra Vista Police.

He is being held in the Cochise County Jail with bond set at $2-million.

       

Border Patrol Agents in the Tucson Sector of Southern Arizona discovered 1,100-pounds of marijuana in 50-bundles on the Tohono O'odham Reservation, Tuesday.

The unusual thing is that the 50-bundles were strapped to three ATV's covered in camouflage blankets, according to Border Patrol spokesperson, Gustavo Soto.

Agents followed tracks from Southeast of Lukeville until they found one ATV concealed in the brush. They found the other two about a mile North, according to Soto.

The 1,100-pounds of marijuana had a street value of $550,000.

Tuesday's seizure is the latest bust in a busy start to the 2007 fiscal year. Since October 1st, agents have seized more than 107,000-pounds of marijuana, a 27-percent increase from the same record setting period last year.

616,534-pounds of pot were seized in 2006, a six year high for the sector that includes Southeastern Arizona.

The 107,000-pounds seized so far this fiscal year nearly equals the total of marijuana seizures from 2004 to 2006 in the Yuma Sector, according to Border Patrol figures.

       

An Arizona municipalities group says voter approval of a property rights law means cities and towns should tread carefully - and try to get voluntary waivers from affecting property owners - before considering proposed annexations, zoning changes, building restrictions and other land-use laws.

The League of Arizona Cities and Towns' implementation guidelines discuss how local governments can respond to Proposition 2-0-7's requirement that land owners be provided compensation for new land-use laws that diminish fair market values of the property. Proposition 2-0-7 only affects new land-use laws, and the

league's implementation guidelines also say it wouldn't hurt for local governments to act on pending changes before the initiative measure takes effect. That will be when Governor Napolitano signs a proclamation immediately or soon after the December fourth official election canvass.

Other elements of Proposition 2-0-7 deal with taking of property through eminent domain but Arizona already has fairly strong protections in state law in that area.

       

Arizona teens who are not yet 18-years-old could face new restrictions on their driving.

Arizona Senator Ron Gould, from Lake Havasu City, who is the new Chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee said Monday that he wants more limits on teens with Class G drivers licenses. These are licenses issued to teens who have passed the state drivers test but have not turned 18.

A new report by the Arizona Childhood Fatality Review Team has concluded that stricter laws on teen drivers will save lives. The study, released Monday, shows 132 youngsters under 18 died in motor vehicle accidents last year.

Linda Gorman, spokeswoman for AAA Arizona, said a teen is nearly twice as likely to get into an accident if there is another teen in the car than while driving alone. Having three or more teens in the car, including the driver, more than quadruples the chances of a crash.

Mary Rimsza, who chairs the Arizona Childhood Fatality Review Team proposes that teens with Class G licenses who get a ticket can keep their record clean if they attend a defensive driving school, just like adults. But a second offense mandates attendance at traffic school on top of any other penalty, with a three-month suspension for a third offense and a six-month suspension for a fourth.

Whether Gould can get the measure through the Senate remains to be seen.

       

A Safford Patrol Officer was flagged down by a citizen Thanksgiving Day, near 8th Street and 20th Avenue. The man told the officer that he had been spraying his yard for weeds when he found a plastic baggie with a white powdery substance inside.

The man handed the bag to the officer and he took it to have it tested. The officer found that the white powdery substance weighed 33.9 grams and tested positive for crystal methamphetamine and cocaine.

The meth and cocaine was placed into evidence at Safford Police Station.

       

Safford Police were called to 1032 S. 5th Avenue, apartment #1, Friday night, to a report of a man who had apparently died in his sleep.

Officers spoke to Penny Stewart, 45, who said that she thought that her boyfriend, Timothy Lutz, also 45, had died in his sleep.

Stewart said that she and Timothy went to sleep at around 9:00pm, Thanksgiving night, and she did not wake up all night. She woke up at around 10:30am, and Lutz was cold and not breathing.

Stewart got up and ran to her neighbor's apartment to call 911. She and the neighbor tried to perform CPR on Lutz, but he was already gone.

Stewart told officers that Lutz had a stroke two weeks ago and spent three days in the hospital. She said that he never seemed to recover from the stroke.

Lutz was pronounced dead at 11:00am, Friday, November 24th.

       

A Safford officer stopped a vehicle on Highway 70, for speeding, at around 7:00pm, Wednesday evening, and discovered that the passenger in the vehicle was wanted in Maricopa County for armed robbery and possession of dangerous drugs.

The vehicle was stopped in the 500 block of 6th Avenue, and the driver said he didn't have his drivers license on him.

The license of the driver, identified as Adrian Dolezal, came back as suspended. The license of the passenger, identified as Antonio Villareal, came back as wanted on two felony warrants out of Maricopa County for two counts of armed robbery and possession of dangerous drugs.

Officers also found a small container of marijuana and a glass smoking pipe inside the vehicle.

Villareal was arrested and booked into the Graham County Jail and Dolezal tested positived for marijuana. Dolezal was released and told to expect a summons for Aggravated DUI-drugs, possession of drug paraphernalia, driving on a suspended license, and speeding.

       

Safford Police were called to 419 East 7th Street, at around 3:30am, Friday morning in response to a woman who was having an allergic reaction to a bug bite.

When police arrived, Olivia Martinez, 43, was awake, breathing, and sitting upright on the floor, with her sister and several family members around her. It appeared that some of the family members had been drinking and were possibly intoxicated.

An ambulance arrived and at first the officer observed that Martinez seemed to refuse treatment. She then passed out and was caught by ambulance personnel and her sister.

A paramedic tried several times to get Martinez away from her sister but the sister would not let her go.

Finally with family members screaming at the ambulance personnel, the paramedic was able to get Martinez onto a gurney and into the ambulance.

The family crowded around the ambulance and had to be held back by Safford Officers.

After several problems with family members, the ambulance was able to take Martinez to the Mt. Graham Regional Medical Center for treatment.

Safford Officers were later called to the Medical Center to control Martinez' sister who had snuck into the emergency room and would not leave.

Martinez was stabilized and the family calmed down at around 5:00am.

       

The U-S Fish and Wildlife Service wants to permanently remove an endangered Mexican gray wolf that has killed livestock in southwestern New Mexico.

The agency says it issued a permanent removal order for the male wolf because it's been involved in three confirmed livestock depredations since June.

The order means that wildlife managers will try to either capture the animal or kill it.

The Fish and Wildlife Service began releasing wolves in eastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico in 1998 to re-establish the species in part of its historic range.

Many ranchers have been vocal opponents of the effort because of livestock depredation.

       

State authorities are seeking the public's help in finding the killers of a mule deer buck and a fawn near Willcox.

The deer were shot in a hay field in a game management area on November 11th or 12th.

A spokesman for Arizona Game and Fish says the dead animals were left to rot.

Anyone who might have been in the area when the animals were killed is asked to report what they might have seen or heard even if they don't think it's related to the killings.

       

Safford Police arrested two suspects who were in possession of methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia, marijuana, and one was wanted on an outstanding warrant, Saturday night.

A Safford officer stopped a vehicle traveling Westbound on Highway 70, for having a broken taillight, and not turning on their headlights.

The officer pulled the vehicle into 215 East Highway 70, the Los Jilberto's parking lot, and asked the driver for her license, registration, and insurance.

Dispatch informed the officer that the driver, Brenda Foxworth, had a warrant out for her arrest.

The male passenger was identified as Lionel Gener. Officers searched Gener and found a meth pipe, a pocket knife, and two small baggies of what turned out to be crystal meth.

Both subjects were handcuffed and placed in patrol cars. The vehicle was searched and officers found more drug paraphernalia and a bag of marijuana.

The drugs were sent to the DPS crime lab for analysis and both subjects were booked into the Graham County Jail.

       

An article in the Arizona Republic, Tuesday, says that the success of the $25.9-billion offer by Freeport-McMoran to purchase Phelps Dodge Corp. depends on the price of copper staying high, the approval of the companies shareholders, and other bidders keeping their distance.

If the merger is successful, the combined two companies would take on a debt of $17.6-billion in debt and would need the money generated by the high price of copper to pay the debt off.

The proposed deal between the two companies is a wager on political stability in Indonesia, where Freeport-McMoran operates the rich Grasberg gold mine, its single asset, and in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where Phelps Dodge is developing the world's largest new deposit of high-grade copper and cobalt.

The article says that the two mines are the crown jewels of the merger and offer both financial security and long-term growth if the governments of the volatile developing nations remain stable.

With the current prices for copper, gold, and molybdenum the combined company would produce, it should be able to quickly repay the approximately $15-billion in debt accrued in the merger, possibly as soon as 2009.

The company is putting it's faith in China's expanding economy to keep the copper market from slumping.

       

A Tucson man is facing charges of attempted second degree murder when he tried to run over a Bisbee Police officer during an investigation, October 31st.

Daniel Arthur Misenar Jr., 28, was bound over by a Cochise County grand jury, last week, and was arraigned on multiple charges Monday morning, including aggravated assault of a police officer and theft of a motor vehicle. Misenar pleaded not guilty to all charges.

The charges stem from an altercation that occurred early Halloween morning when the Bisbee Police officer spotted three suspicious vehicles on Douglas Road and went to investigate. After answering some questions, Misenar reportly tried to run over the officer.

In self-defense, the officer shot Misenar, who escaped and eluded police for a short time. With help from a Border Patrol K-9 unit, Misenar was found hiding in a trash dumpster.

Misenar was taken to a hospital for treatment for a gunshot to his arm. It was discovered that he had an outstanding felony warrant in Michigan for assault with a deadly weapon and carrying a concealed weapon.

Two other people who were with Misenar are also facing felony charges. A man and a woman, both from Tucson, were arrested by Bisbee Police and charged with theft of a vehicle and trafficking in stolen property.

There were three stolen vehicles involved. All of them stolen from Tucson.

       

An assistant editor and reporter/journalist for the Eastern Arizona Courier was arrested Friday, in connection with a child molestation and sexual assault case out of San Diego, California.

Lindsey Stockton was arrested by FBI investigators, San Diego Detectives, and DPS officers in Safford, Friday, when they called the Courier and requested that Stockton come to the Graham County Sheriff's Office to get some information about a breaking news story for the newspaper. Stockton was arrested when she arrived at the Sheriff's Office.

According to the Courier, an investigation has been going on for four years in San Diego, implicating Stockton and her step-father, Rick Stockton, for child molestation and sexual assault.

Rick Stockton was also arrested Friday, in San Diego, for the molestation of a 14-year-old girl.

Officers also executed a search warrant of Lindsey Stockton's residence and seized her computer and any recording equipment that she had.

Lindsey Stockton came to the Eastern Arizona Courier from the University of Arizona as a staff reporter. She later, this year, worked at the Graham County Court House, briefly, before returning to the Courier last month.

An extradition hearing was held for Lindsey on Monday afternoon. She waved extradition and San Diego Police had an airplane waiting at the Safford Airport to transport her back to San Diego.

Bond was set in Graham County at $1-million.

       

Safford Officers were dispatched to 1503 Relation Street, early Friday morning, in reference to a vehicle stopped in the middle of the street and a woman asleep at the wheel with the car still running.

A woman who was passing by saw the car stopped in the middle of the road. She stopped and tried to wake the driver, Patricia Ann Randall, 32, of Thatcher, but the car was locked and the windows rolled up.

The woman shook the car and banged on the windows with no reaction from the sleeping Randall.

When officer arrived, they saw the car in the middle of the road, running, with its headlights on, and the woman inside with her foot on the brake, …. asleep.

The officers tried banging on the windows and shaking the car and Randall, kept her foot on the brake, and was sound asleep.

One of the officers parked his car, facing Randall's car, while another officer tried to again wake Randall up.

With all the banging and noise, Randall began to wake up. Her foot did come off of the brake and her car rammed into the front of the parked police car.

Another officer smashed Randall's passenger-side window, put Randall's car into gear and grabbed the keys from the ignition.

The police report said that the officers could smell a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from Randall.

At around midnight, Friday morning, Safford officers took Randall to the Safford Police station. Randall's registration had expired in February and her license plate had been canceled. Her vehicle was impounded and towed.

Blood was drawn from Patricia Randall and she was released into the custody of her sister.

       

The announcement, Monday of the acquisition of Phelps Dodge Corp. by New Orleans based Freeport-McMoran Copper and Gold Inc. was a surprise to many in Graham and Greenlee Counties and others who work for Phelps Dodge owned properties in Arizona and New Mexico.

A merger agreement was signed on Sunday by the two mining giants under which Freeport-McMoran or FCX will acquire PD for approximately $25.9-billion in cash and stock, creating the world's largest publicly traded copper company.

The company will continue to be listed on the stock exchange under the name FCX with James R. Moffett continuing as chairman. Richard C. Adkerson, will continue as CEO of FCX and chairman and CEO of Phelps Dodge, J. Steven Whisler is expected to retire after the merger is complete more than 30-years with Phelps Dodge.

Timothy R. Snider will be Chief Operating Officer of the combined company, with Ramiro G. Peru to be Chief Financial Officer and Kathleen L. Quirk as Chief Investment Officer of the new company.

According to Kimball Hansen, Phelps Dodge spokesperson for Safford Operations; The merger agreement will have "no effect" and "no impact" on local jobs and will not change the plans that Phelps Dodge has already proposed in Graham and Greenlee Counties.

Hansen also said that the merger agreement will have "no effect" on the pension fund for retired, former Phelps Dodge employees.

The Phelps Dodge name will continue to be used in its existing operations.

       

A Graham County Sheriff's Deputy was notified by Bylas Police that a Pima School Bus was shot at on the way back from Bylas, Saturday night.

The deputy met the bus driver at the Pima bus barn at around 11:30pm, Saturday night. The driver told the deputy that he was East bound, around 10:10pm, heading back to Pima with 23-students in the bus when one of them said that they were being shot at. The driver said that the shooting took place near the Bylas Store.

The bus driver said that he continued to drive the bus until he arrived in Pima.

The deputy investigated the incident and found a small bullet hole that had passed though a window on the driver side of the bus.

None of the Pima students were injured and a bullet could not be found.

       

An assistant editor and reporter for the Eastern Arizona Courier was arrested Friday in connection to a child molestation and sexual assault case out of San Diego, California.

Lindsey Stockton was arrested by FBI investigators, San Diego Detectives, and DPS officers when they called the Courier, Friday afternoon, and requested that Stockton come to the Graham County Sheriff's Office to get some information about a breaking news story for the paper. Stockton was arrested when she arrived at the Sheriff's Office.

According to the Courier, an investigation has been going on for four years implicated Stockton and her step-father, Rick Stockton, 51, for child molestation and sexual assault.

Rick Stockton was also arrested of Friday in San Diego, for the molestation of a 14-year-old girl.

Officers also executed a search warrant of Lindsey Stockton's residence and seized her computer and any recording equipment that she had.

Lindsey Stockton came to the Eastern Arizona Courier from the University of Arizona as a staff reporter. She later, this year, worked at the Graham County Court House, briefly before returning to the Courier, last month.

Bond is set at $1-million, and according to DPS investigators, Lindsey should be extradited to California within the week.

       

Freeport-McMoran Copper and Gold Inc., said on Sunday that it had agreed to acquire Phelps Dodge Corp for $25.9-billion in cash and stock, creating the world's largest publicly traded copper company.

Freeport-McMoran said it will pay a total of $126.46 per Phelps Dodge share.

Each Phelps Dodge shareholder would receive $88.00-per share in cash plus $0.67 of a common share of Freeport-McMoran.

Freeport-McMoran said this represents a premium of 33-percent to Phelps Dodge's closing price on November 17, and a premium of 29-percent to its one-month average price at that date.

On Friday, Phelps Dodge shares closed at $95.02, while Freeport-McMoran's stock closed at $57.40, per share.

       

A top-ranking immigration official says that the federal government is serious about following through on its promise to crack down on employers in Arizona who break the law by hiring illegal immigrants.

Alonzo Pena, the new chief of investigations for Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Arizona, says some businesses regard the fines they could face for illegal hirings as the price of doing business.

So he said the government will now pursue criminal charges against the most egregious violators.

With limited resources to crack down on the large number of illegal hirings in Arizona, federal authorities say such prosecutions will help deter other employers who might be thinking about flouting the rules.

       

Southwestern Power Group is planning to begin construction of the Bowie Power Station in 2009.

The Southwestern Power Group purchased 1,621 acres approximately 2 and a half miles north of Bowie in 2001 and had originally planned to use natural gas as a power source.

Because of the unstable cost of natural gas, the company decided to use coal.

The facility is now aiming for a clean-coal fueled 600-megawatt plant opening in 2012.

"This coal plant is unlike traditional coal plants. The process removes the sulfur and other harmful ingredients of the coal before it is burned, so it is a much cleaner process," says Ian Calkins, a spokesman for Bowie Power Station.

The company has proposed zoning changes, which will be filed in Cochise County Planning and Zoning in mid-December, to include 1,007 acres of planned development and 614 acres of heavy industry.

The planned development will include 160-acres for agricultural use by the University of Arizona, 324 acres for commercial agriculture, possibly a greenhouse. According to the Power Station spokesperson, the reason for the greenhouse is the gas-fired boilers produce carbon dioxide, which can be pumped into the greenhouse for better plant production.

Construction of the Power Station is expected to take 3-and-one-half years and employ 700 to 1000 workers.

       

Safford Police Officers arrested one man who was wanted on an outstanding warrant and another man for possession of dangerous drugs, Sunday afternoon.

A Safford officer was on patrol near Thriftee Grocery Store and saw three men sitting on the benches in front of the store.

The officer recognized Randy Joe Lee Norton and the officer knew that there was an outstanding warrant out for his arrest.

The officer confirmed the warrant with dispatch. He then drove up to the benches and arrested Randy Norton.

Two other Safford Officer arrived at the scene and began talking to the two remaining men sitting on the benches.

One of the officers discovered a black nylon knife case containing two syringes, and a metal vial with liquid in it in the front pocket of one of the men, identified as Chris Henderson.

Norton and Henderson were arrested taken to the Graham County Jail. There were no charges on the third man.

The liquid in the metal vial tested positive for Crystal Methamphetamine.

Norton was arrested for the outstanding warrant and Henderson was charged with possession of dangerous drugs and possession of drug paraphernalia.

       

In the last three years the apprehension of illegal immigrant, crossing the Arizona –Mexico Border in Cochise County and traveling North has declined nearly 75-percent.

New statistics from the Border Patrol's Tucson Sector state that apprehensions of illegals in Cochise County in the last fiscal year are down 45-percent, and a 63-percent drop from two years ago.

Some experts say that the decrease in apprehensions of illegal immigrants is because of the increase in Border Patrol agents, the addition of National Guard troops, and the addition of unmanned aerial surveilance vehicles stationed at Ft. Huachuca.

Other experts like Ray Borone, Mayor of Douglas, say that the reason for low apprehension figures in Cochise County is that the illegal border crossers are crossing somewhere else.

Borane says, "I can tell you from knowing both sides of the border that the level of activity is down."

According to Cochise County Sheriff, Larry Dever, "Illegal immigrants and their smugglers go where they have the greatest opportunity for success. This area will always be a preferred target for smuggling activities because of its accessibility. There's an ebb and a flow, and I think it will be an ongoing battle."

       

Unofficial results from the November 7th Graham County General Election have been released by the Election Central Headquarters.

Just in Graham County, the voter turnout was 85.18-percent. There are 17,813 registered voters in Graham County and 15,174 ballots were cast on Tuesday.

In the 18-precincts counted, John Kyl received 4,903-votes to Jim Peterson's 2,108, unofficially, in the race for U.S. Senator. Kyl received 65.31-percent of the vote in Graham County.

Former Graham County Sheriff Richard Mack received 493-votes running as a Libertarian in Graham County.

Incumbent Republican Rick Renzi ended up with 5,133-votes unofficially or 68.63-percent of the vote in Graham County - compared to Democrat Ellen Simon's 2,087-votes or 27.90 of the unofficial vote. Both were running for U.S.Representative for District 1.

Safford Republican and State Representative for District 5, Bill Konopnicki ran unopposed and received 5,011-votes or 58.99-percent of the Graham County vote.

Graham County School Superintendent Donna McGaughey retained her position, running unopposed, as did Clerk of the Superior Court Darlee John Maylen, Justice of the Peace Precinct #1, Gary Griffith, Justice of the Peace Precinct #2, Dewey Bryce, and Judge of the Graham County Superior Court Douglas Holt.

       

A Claypool man was killed, and a Bylas man is in critical condition when they were involved in a single-vehicle collision early Sunday morning, near Ft. Thomas.

David M. Sawyer, 32, of Claypool, Arizona, was driving westbound on Highway 70, when he lost control, drove off of the highway, and collided with a concrete loading dock.

A passenger in the vehicle, identified as Nolando Gustina, 24, of Bylas, was seriously injured and was airlifted by helicopter to University Medical Center in Tucson, where he was listed in critical condition.

According to a DPS report, Sawyer, who was driving a Honda, was not wearing a seatbelt. He was partially ejected from the vehicle and died at the scene.

The passenger, Gustina, was wearing a seatbelt and was not killed.

Witnessess to the collision told DPS investigators that the blue Honda was traveling at a high rate of speed just prior to the collision.

       

Safford Officers were called to 214 5th Avenue to a complaint of a Domestic Assault, Monday.

When officers arrived they were given a description of the man who was involved in the assault. The officers found him walking near the 200 block of 4th Avenue, headed east.

When the male subject – later identified as Eric Daniel Medina - saw the officers after him, he started running with one officer pursuing on foot and the other officer in his patrol car.

The Safford officers were able to eventually catch Medina but had to wrestle him to the ground to handcuff him.

When they searched Medina, the officers found 13-seals with crystal meth inside of them and a piece of paper with a list of names.

One of the Safford Officer called dispatch and ran a check on Medina. The check came back saying that Medina had a felony warrant out for his arrest from Graham County Superior Court.

The officers also found a quantity of marijuana where Medina had been running from officers.

Medina was arrested for the felony warrant, possession of dangerous drugs, possession of dangerous drugs for sale, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of marijuana, and criminal damage.

       

If you own a Honda sedan, you might want to keep your car locked at night.

Two Honda sedan models top the latest list of vehicles most often stolen in Arizona.

They are the 1991 Honda Accord and the 1995 Honda Civic.

The rankings come from an annual study by the National Insurance Crime Bureau.

The same two cars also lead the national list, according to the crime bureau, which supplies data to insurance companies nationwide.

On Arizona's 2005 list, the 2004 Dodge Ram pickup was ranked third-most stolen vehicle, while the 1994 Nissan Sentra was Number Four and the 1995 Chevrolet C-K pickup was fifth.

The crime bureau says older vehicles dominate the stolen-vehicle rankings in Arizona and nationally, with a good percentage of these going to illegal chop shops that disassemble them for parts.

       

A woman called Graham County Deputies to report that her home had been burglarized while she was at work.

Valerie Arrellin, who lives on S. Highway 191, told a Graham County Deputy, Wednesday night, that she left for work at around 3:30pm. When she returned home at around 9:00pm, the front door to her home had been kicked in.

Valerie looked around and saw that her residence had been gone through. Several VHS and DVD movies were missing and about $150.00 worth of food and groceries had been stolen from her refrigerator and freezer.

Deputies said that they could not find any footprints on the door or on the ground. No visible signs of fingerprints were found.

At this time there are no known suspects. The case was turned over to Graham County Investigators.

       

There's a hunt for Bigfoot in eastern Arizona.

Reports of the creature on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation sparked an expedition by a controversial hunter.

Tom Biscardi visited the reservation over the weekend for the second time this year to interview witnesses and organize a search.

In recent months, police officers have reported being chased by the creature, campers have said they spotted it and locals have said they caught it peeking in their windows.

A team of searchers geared up with infrared and thermal-imaging devices, a Taser, a tranquilizer gun and a net-shooting canon. After that, they never did find Bigfoot.

Biscardi believes there are at least 35-hundred Bigfoots nationwide. He has been trying to capture a specimen for 33 years, and his team has visited nearly every state in that quest.

       

Graham, Greenlee, and Cochise County voters face dozens of choices in Tuesday's general election, with a hotly contested U-S Senate race among the many contests between candidates but also decisions on 19 statewide ballot measures.

Arizonans also will elect a governor and other statewide officials and federal and state lawmakers. Many local jurisdictions also had offices and spending issues on their ballots.

Polls will be open from six A-M to seven P-M on Tuesday.

Because of the length of the ballot, election officials worried about long lines advised voters to make their choices before going to polling places.

Election officials also urged voters with early ballots to put them in the mail no later than today or to simply drop them off at polling places on Tuesday.

Early ballots must be received by election offices by Tuesday night to be counted, but the process of counting those ballots could take days.

The general election will be the second statewide application of a 2004 law requiring voters to provide certain types of identification when voting at polling places.

       

A Graham County Deputy was called to 3357 Mullins Lane in Thatcher to a report of a 6-year-old by being hit by pickup.

At around 6:10pm, Wednesday evening, the deputy arrived and was told that the driver of the pickup, Daniel Thompson, was traveling northbound to his residence on Coleman Lane, in Thatcher.

Due to construction on Coleman Lane, a large dirt burm was in front of Thompson's residence. Thompson was turning around a metal barricade to get to his house when he heard his vehicle hit something and saw someone go down.

Thompson immediately stopped, got out of his truck, and realized that he had hit 6-year-old Jacob Whitaker, who lives at 3357 West Mullins Lane.

Whitaker's foot was caught under the passenger side front tire of Thompson's truck. Thompson placed a large rock under the rear tire and pulled his truck forward to get it off of Whitaker's foot.

Thompson then took the young boy home.

Whitaker's mother, Susan, took Jacob to the Mt. Graham Regional Medical Center for treatment. She told the deputy that Jacob was returning a dog to it's owner when the accident occurred.

No citation was issued due to limited line of sight, poor lighting and poor road conditions.

Jacob's medical condition has not been released.

       

Two people have been killed in the crash of an ultralight aircraft in southeastern Arizona.

It occurred in a rugged box canyon east of Apache, near the Chiricahua Wilderness.

The Cochise County Sheriff's Department said it received a call at 1 p-m Tuesday, from Rodeo, New Mexico, regarding a possible crash in the area.

It says a Department of Public Safety helicopter located the wreckage of the ultralight about an hour later, and crews who hiked down to the site found two bodies in the wreckage.

The bodies were taken to a mortuary in Willcox and the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board were notified.

No immediate word on the identities of the victims.

       

Arizona youth are using less alcohol and tobacco than they did a few years ago.

That's good news.

But a newly released study shows four-point-three percent of eighth-through-12th graders say they've used methamphetamine.

The survey by the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission surveyed more than 60-thousand students in eighth, tenth and 12th grades, Four-point-three-percent of the students surveyed say they've used meth at least once.

A little more than one-percent say they'd used the drug in the last month.

Another alarming stat, about 40 percent of the high school seniors say they thought cocaine, L-S-D or methamphetamine were "sort of easy" or "very easy" to get.

The survey report says the average age of first methamphetamine use is about 14.

       

A human smuggling ring that was discovered in Bowie and broken up by FBI, Border Patrol, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Cochise County Sheriff's Deputies on Monday, has apparently been in operation for a long time.

According to investigators, the smuggling ring was run by Pablo Esteban "Steve" Juarez and his wife Lori Ann Juarez, of Bowie.

It had been inherited by Steve Juarez from his father Marcos Ruiz Juarez and his brother Abey Juarez.

He would pay his fellow workers off in cash and drugs.

The smugglers would solicit individuals in Agua Prieta, who wanted to be smuggled into the United States, at a cost of anywhere from $500.00 to $800.00.

The immigrants would be smuggled to Bowie where they were charged another transportation fee - sometimes as much as $2,000 per person.

If the immigrants could not come up with the money they could be assaulted, shot, or abandoned, according to the FBI.

Infants and small children were often separated from their parents and brought across the border by young women who posed as their mothers.

According to Cochise County Sheriff, Larry Dever, the Juarez family has been involved in criminal activity in Cochise County for about 30-years.

A conviction for human smuggling carries a maximum penalty of 10-years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both. A conviction for money laundering carries the same penalities.

       

A former Safford resident, his girlfriend, and their infant child were killed, Friday night in Tucson, by a man suspected of driving drunk, in a hit-and-run 3-vehicle accident.

Simon Joseph Castro, 30, formerly of Safford, Skylynn A. Hartman, 21, and their 21-month-old toddler son, Caleb Cole Hartman, were killed in the wreck that happened at the intersection of South Palo Verde Road and East Irvington Road, about 9:45pm, Friday night.

According to a Pima County Sheriff's spokesperson; a red truck driven by James Lee Hyfield, 32, ran a red light at the East Irvington Road intersection and hit a Toyota sedan with two passengers. The red truck then smashed into a westbound Dodge sedan driven by Skylynn Hartman.

The red truck rolled and landed on top of the Dodge sedan.

Hartman and Castro were killed at the scene and their child later died at the hospital.

James Lee Hyfield and an unknown passenger then fled the scene.

Hyfield was arrested Saturday morning at his apartment in the 3000 block of North Flowing

Wells Road, after authorities received an anonymous tip on where he was. Court records show previous arrests of Hyfield on suspicion of theft, assault, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Hyfield has been charged on suspicion of three counts of second-degree murder, two counts of aggravated assault, one count of driving on a suspended license, and one count of leaving the scene of an accident.

       

U.S. Customs and Border Protection unveiled its new Predator B spy drone aircraft on Monday, six months after the agency's UAV crashed, North of Nogales.

The new Predator B is expected to be operational and flying border reconnaissance missions out of Ft. Huachuca by next week, according to the commissioner for air and marine operations at the U.S Customs and Border Protection.

According to the commissioner, the previous Predator B crashed because of human error at ground control and not because of a defect in the plane.

Since 2004, surveillance drones have flown 1,805 hours and have directly contributed to 3,605 arrest and seizure of 11,000 pounds of marijuana.

With assistance from the Predator B in the air, agents are able to find and apprehend more illegal immigrants and drug smugglers on the ground who have scattered into the desert, after being stopped by Federal officers.

The Predator B has a wingspan of 66-feet and is 36-feet long.

It has a maximum altitude of 50,000-feet-plus; has a top speed of 276-MPH, and can stay in the air some 30-plus hours.

       

A Graham County Deputy and a Thatcher Police Officer were called to the scene of a fight at the Stadium Club in Thatcher, Saturday night.

The deputy spoke with the Stadium Club bouncer, Barry Thompson, who said that the problem started when a man tried to enter the Stadium Club who appeared to be intoxicated.

Thompson refused to allow the man to enter and the man began swinging his fists and throwing punches. Thompson caught a punch on the left side of his head.

When the officers arrived the male subject ran from the scene. He was caught by the Thatcher officer and brought back to the scene.

Thompson was issued a Victims Rights Form and the intoxicated man was cited for assault. He was dropped off at the Sunrise Mobile Home Park by police